John Fielden

John Fielden (17 January 1784-29 May 1849) was the Radical MP for Oldham from 1832 to 1847. He was a major leader of the British reform movement, fighting for the 1847 Factory Act.

Biography
John Fielden was born in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England in 1784, and he began working in the family mill when he was tneen years old. Although his father was a Tory, he became a Radical and supported both Parliamentary reform and factory reform. He was involved in Reform Bill agitation in Manchester, and, after the bill was passed and the middle class was enfranchised, Fielden was elected to the House of Commons as the Radical MP for Oldham in 1832. In 1833, he supported Lord Ashley's efforts to fight for a new Factory Act, although they were not finally to prevail until 1847. Fielden was sympathetic to the Chartists, but he refused to support their meetings and petitions, limiting his support to their moral force. He died in 1849.